Hospital Silencer

Dropped over to Debdale to give Quo a look-over and quickly decided that the wind still had a bit too much of an edge for a leisure cruise to Foxton and back. 
That decided, we just ran up the heating and the engine for 20 minutes or so ... basking in the lack of noise from the engine ... Steve certainly did a fine job and for £50 or so less than the quote :o)
At 1200 revs, you can talk in whispers on the rear deck, and because the new, much larger silencer has been tucked under the deck, the engine is actually more accessible ..... all in all it was money well spent.
Pictures to follow.

When we finally do get cruising, Quo will be a completely different boat thanks to Debdale Marine. I know lots of boaters moan about the prices charged by marinas, but as usual, you get what you pay for.
Everything Debdale have done so far has been done well, and made the boat better than when she left the builders, especially their suggestion to extend the rudder.

Easter ! Brrrrrrr

After an early start - we had remembered to forward the clocks - we spent the morning helping out at the FIPT Museum at Foxton Locks, setting up a couple of Gazebos and some tables for the serious volunteers to freeze in run money making raffles and lucky dips etc to help out the Museum funds.
It started off as a glorious sunny morning, but soon the clouds rolled in and the whole site took on a very cold and bleak look, with patches of snow stubbornly resisting.

Once done, we scooted over to Debdale to see Quo, as Nicki had rung on Friday to tell us that they had finally fitted the Hospital Silencer.
Sure enough, they have made a very neat job of shoe-horning something the size of an oil drum under the deck on the left hand side of the engine room and the pay-off was evident from the very first turn of the starter. Set to 1200 revs - our normal cruising speed - there was no engine exhaust noise at all !!!
 All that could be heard was the mechanical noise of the valve gear and the usual clatter of a diesel engine, and even this will pale once I've finished installing all the soundproofing to the engine bay .... I would love to achieve almost silent cruising.  
We weren't able to take her out for a proper test because the marina was iced over in places, and I could see no point in carving off our new blacking, the ice will soon be gone, then we can get this year's narrowboating  properly under-way ... can't wait !!!

Snowy Debdale

This morning we decided to brave the snow and slither over to Debdale to take a look at Quo.
We went along the A6, which was completely clear, then turned off up the gated road, all snow-covered, but passable without too much drama. The marina is frozen over, and all the boats are snow-capped.

There seem to be a few empty spaces in the Marina ... can't think where the boats have gone in this weather.

Quo showing off a snowy button. Liz showing off not slipping into the water.

There is a slushy layer about 30mm thick - presumably partly melted snow - overlaying about 20mm of solid ice. A few bashes with a shovel got through it, but It will be pretty tough if it freezes right through.

 



At least this Mallard is not feeling the freeze.

    

Bit of a token gesture, as there is more snow forecast for Sunday, but I cleared the snow from the stern deck and the gas cupboard, just in case the drain gulleys are the last bits to thaw.
Meanwhile, Liz checked that all was well inside and rescued our Woof Boots for use ashore.

Freezing Foxton

A chilly morning at Foxton Locks

A wintry Inclined Plane

Centre pound frozen over.

UK Boating

Just found this

UK Boating, Foxton Inclined Plane item.

Debdale landslip update

We popped into Debdale this morning to check up on Quo,  running the engine and central heating to make sure everything still worked properly, and just managed to fight off the urge to set out for Foxton, but only because we had arranged to go out for Sunday lunch with Jody, James and his workmate Ryan.
As the mud on the towpath had frozen, Liz and I had a relatively trouble-free stroll up the to the slip site.
The canal is open again and workboats are on site. They have cleared a channel easily wide enough to get a narrowboat past, and visibility coming up to the obstruction is good from either direction.

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Debdale landslip

At the risk of drowning in mud, I squelched my way up the towpath from Debdale Marina to just before Bridge 67 to get these pictures of the landslip that closed the canal over Christmas 2012 and early 2013.

 Canal closure at the old bridge 66

View North from Bridge 65. 
No sign of the closure until you've gone round the bend, ie. past the last winding point in the Marina entrance or before the bridge at Debdale Wharf

Looking South from Bridge 65.
The Joey in the distance is currently sitting on the bottom, full of rainwater, despite the water level being at maximum. During the last year, when the wind got up, the Joey often broke loose and straddled the canal, leaving us just enough room to squeeze past. No amount of pushing by us could move it.